Handbag Fashion Trends: the Venetian Way

June 22, 2017

If you're going to buy a designer handbag, it's understandable to want to invest in something classic. When you're spending a lot of money, you want to be sure you're going to get your money's worth. But all too often, you replace your worn-down, go-to black tote with, surprise, another black bag.And what if you look into the last runway trends? Seasonal trends are catching, and it is difficult to resist to a brand new bag that looks so amazing. But the question on the back of your mind is always: will I wear this bag again next season? And you know the reply: probably not.

This is why here in Venice we wanted to do something pretty special: to transform something seasonal like a fashion trend into a timeless product. How to do that? The recipe is the same we always apply when we craft a new product: traditional techniques, precious materials, modern design

This season we played with two of the most popular spring tends: metallic leather and flowers. A floral print done the wrong way can really age an outfit, but when it’s well planned, the effect is perfectly fresh and springy. They are everywhere, and we have to admit there are quite a few nice bags around. But we didn’t want to stop where everybody else does; a floral print bag is lovely, but we think a Lido costumer deserves more then a flower print made out of an ink jet machine!

We wanted something much more authentic, Venetian, and luxurious. And this is where Lido’s now cheeky sailors come from. We started from an artwork inspired by the traditional Murano glasses, but we totally transform it into something new and modern. Then we hand painted it Venice, in two different color ways. It is a very long process, but the result is the most unique product, each bag being different and entirely handpainted by the artisan without the use of any machinery.

We loved the floral design so much that we wanted to try it with an even more special technique, something that you will not find in any other luxury leather goods. We are talking about the very traditional doratura technique (gold gilding), that has been used in Venice for centuries in artworks, mosaics, and decoration. We did use genuine gold and silver, reduced into very thin layers (gold and silver leafs), hand applied following the traditional gilding technique to create the floral artwork on our Cheeky Sailor.

The process starts preparing the area to decorate with a thin layer of bole, a sticky substance that the gold leaves will stick to. After the substrate is ready, we cut the gold leaf into small squares according to the size of the gilding area, then we apply them on the bag. Gilding with loose gold leaf is a delicate operation that requires a very sensitive touch. The gold sheets, light and fragile, can crumple at the slightest disturbance.

At the end we hand brushed the metal, to achieve a less shiny and more vintage look.

The full gilding process takes about 10 hours for each bag, and this is how our Cheeky Sailor in gold and silver leafs looks like